Shanxi Agricultural University (山西农业大学) is a university in Shanxi, China under the authority of the provincial government.It is in the city of Taigu (太谷), a rural area with a population of about 40,000 people.
Driven by the growing demand for plant-based foods, whipped cream structured by amyloid fibrils and stabilized with highly unsaturated vegetable oils presents a promising alternative to both dairy and hydrogenated fat-based creams. This study provides a systematic comparison of fibrillar aggregates derived from six legume proteins, namely kidney bean, mung bean, adzuki bean, black bean, pea, and chickpea, with a focus on their structural and functional properties. Their effects on Pickering emulsion characteristics and the performance of plant-based whipped cream were further investigated. By analyzing the structural and interfacial properties of the fibrils, together with the rheological behavior and microstructure of the resulting emulsions, the key mechanisms governing cream texture and stability were elucidated. The results demonstrate that proteins rich in 7S globulins, particularly mung bean protein isolate (MPI), formed abundant short and curved fibrils with superior surface hydrophobicity, enabling the formation of fine, uniform Pickering emulsions with high viscosity. In contrast, proteins with high 11S globulin content, such as chickpea protein isolate (CPI), generated sparse, long and straight fibrils forming loose networks with poor interfacial activity, leading to coarse, unstable emulsions. Consequently, MPI-stabilized whipped cream achieved the highest firmness and overrun, whereas CPI failed to form a stable foam structure. Overall, this work establishes that the 7S/11S globulin composition of legume proteins dictates fibril morphology and interfacial properties, which are critical determinants for the quality of plant-based whipped creams. These findings underscore the importance of protein source selection in designing high-performance, non-hydrogenated animal fat mimetics.
Yuluxiang’ pear is a premium pear cultivar widely cultivated in China, but postharvest peel chlorosis caused by chlorophyll degradation severely shortens its shelf life and impairs commercial value. This study investigated the dynamic changes in physicochemical quality and peel pigmentation of ‘Yuluxiang’ pear fruit during ambient storage (24 ± 1℃), and elucidated the transcriptional regulatory mechanism underlying chlorophyll degradation via integrated physiological, transcriptomic, and molecular biological approaches. Results showed that fruit firmness, single fruit weight, titratable acid, ascorbic acid, and chlorophyll contents decreased continuously during storage, while total soluble solids and soluble carbohydrates contents exhibited an initial increase followed by a decline. Transcriptome analysis identified significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes in chlorophyll metabolism, plant hormone signal transduction, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways. Functional validation confirmed that the key structural gene PbNYC1 positively regulated chlorophyll degradation, with a pronounced regulatory effect. Yeast one-hybrid, dual-luciferase, and GUS histochemical staining assays demonstrated that the ethylene-responsive AP2/ERF transcription factor PbAP2 directly bound to the PbNYC1 promoter and activated its transcription. Exogenous ethylene treatment upregulated PbAP2 expression and accelerated peel chlorosis, confirming the critical role of the ethylene-induced PbAP2 - PbNYC1 module in postharvest chlorophyll degradation. This study reveals the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of postharvest chlorophyll degradation in ‘Yuluxiang’ pear, and provides a theoretical basis and molecular targets for the development of green-skin retention and shelf-life extension technologies for green-skinned pears.
Food spoilage necessitates intelligent packaging that integrates preservation with real-time visual monitoring. Hydrocolloid-based aerogels are ideal carriers due to their biocompatibility and structural tunability. However, developing aerogel-based freshness indicators faces a critical trade-off between achieving high structural integrity under humid conditions and maintaining sensitive, rapid responsiveness alongside active preservation functions. In this study, a multifunctional composite aerogel was constructed via a mechanism-guided design strategy, employing chitosan (CS) and Flammulina velutipes protein (FVP) as a composite hydrocolloid matrix, poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) as a pore-forming agent, and curcumin (Cur) as an active component with pH-responsive, antibacterial, and antioxidant properties. The aerogel exhibited a three-dimensional interconnected porous network with high porosity (92.64%) and water absorption capacity (2170.7%). Molecular dynamics simulations and spectroscopic analyses revealed that a stable hydrocolloid matrix was formed via a hydrogen-bond network between CS and FVP (average 20.10 bonds), while Cur was uniformly loaded through dual hydrogen bond-hydrophobic interactions, ensuring high exposure of its active sites. The aerogel demonstrated sensitive, reversible colorimetric responses to pH (2–12) and ammonia (7–2000 ppm), changing from yellow to red within 5 min at 70 ppm NH3. It also showed significant antibacterial (inhibition zones ≥17.0 mm against E. coli and S. aureus) and antioxidant activities (DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging rates of 36.87% and 85.43%, respectively). When applied to pork storage, the aerogel's color parameters (L*, a*, b*) correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with key spoilage indicators (TVB-N, TVC, pH, sensory scores), enabling real-time visual freshness monitoring while synergistically extending shelf life. This work establishes a novel mechanism-guided design principle for multicomponent hydrocolloid composites, providing a fundamental framework for precisely tailoring their structure-property-performance relationships in advanced food packaging and beyond.
Biochar amendment facilitates carbon (C)-neutral crop production in acidic and neutral soils, yet whether such synergistic benefits can be achieved in calcareous soils remains largely unknown. Here, we evaluated a 12-year field experiment involving continuous straw-derived biochar application (2250 and 4500 kg ha−1), sole mineral fertilization and an unfertilized control under maize-sorghum rotation in a Calcaric Cambisol on the Loess Plateau. We examined soil organic C (SOC) stock, microbial respiration and extracellular enzyme activities at various depths down to 60 cm and in different aggregate fractions from the 0–20 cm soil layer. Relative to the initial soil, the SOC stock decreased by 3% under the unfertilized control but increased by 3%, 11% and 22% under the sole mineral fertilizer, half-rate biochar and full-rate biochar treatments, respectively. The threshold annual C input for balancing cultivation-induced SOC loss was 2374 kg C ha−1. Biochar increased char-derived SOC proportion but reduced fungal necromass accumulation, which modulated macroaggregate stabilization. Furthermore, biochar amendment generally reduced soil respiration rate, confirming the occurrence of negative priming effects. Long-term biochar application suppressed phenol oxidase and N-acetyl-glucosaminidase activities, and their consistent positive correlations with soil respiration across soil profiles and aggregates highlighted their central roles in governing SOC decomposition, supporting the ‘enzyme latch’ and stoichiometric decomposition theories. Notably, biochar application, either alone or combined with mineral fertilization, did not improve maize and sorghum yields. Collectively, long-term biochar amendment inhibited microbial anabolism and induced an enzymatic cascading effect that constrained microbial catabolism, which slowed SOC decomposition and enhanced SOC sequestration while failing to stimulate nutrient cycling and crop production in the calcareous cropland soils of the Loess Plateau.
‘Yuluxiang’ pear is a high-quality variety bred in China, noted for its excellent quality attributes. However, its shelf life is relatively short with fruit quality deteriorating rapidly. Adenosine monophosphate (AMP) is a key participant in cellular energy metabolism, influencing cellular energy charge and accumulating during natural or postharvest ripening of fruits. Nevertheless, the effects of exogenous AMP treatment on fruit ripening have rarely been investigated. In this study, ‘Yuluxiang’ pear was treated with AMP and stored at room temperature. The results showed that AMP treatment significantly suppressed fruit yellowing and softening, effectively extending the shelf life of ‘Yuluxiang’ pear. Further analyses revealed that AMP treatment inhibited the increase in ADP and AMP content, thereby maintaining a relatively stable energy charge status and delaying the postharvest ripening process. Additionally, AMP treatment upregulated the expression of genes related to cellular signal transduction and remodeled the fruit transcriptome through differential expression of numerous transcription factors.
